Walker's play a real downer

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Walker's play a real downer


By Peter May, Globe Columnist, 5/8/2003

AST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Antoine Walker is killing the Celtics. And he knows it.



Once again, Game 2 of the Boston-New Jersey playoff series drove home the
growing disconnect between the Nets and the Celtics and between Walker and
Kenyon Martin, the man who is making life miserable for Employee No. 8. The
Nets took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 104-95
victory last night, beating the Celtics for the eighth time in the last nine
games going back to the conference finals of a year ago. Walker submitted a
hideous line (7 points on 3-of-15 shooting, 5 turnovers, and 9 rebounds in 45
minutes) and didn't try to sugarcoat it afterward. ''I feel like I'm coming up
short,'' Walker said. ''I'm hurting the team.''

He's right. The playoffs are a time for the stars to shine, but Walker is
playing in a cumulonimbus cloud. He has never played particularly well against
players who play him tough, which is what Martin does. In the first two games,
Walker has shot 9 of 35 from the field, made 1 of 8 3-pointers, turned it over
seven times, and is averaging 10.5 points a game, fourth most on the team.

Those are not numbers the Celtics can live with - or win with. Walker
struggled against the Nets during the regular season - as did his team. He has
struggled in the first two games of this series - as has his team. If all you
saw in a Walker video clip were his performances against New Jersey, you'd
swear you were seeing Benoit Benjamin. The people in New Jersey must be
scratching their collective noggins when they see him in an All-Star game.

After an underwater performance in Game 1, Walker was almost defiant in
insisting it wasn't anything the Nets did that made him play so poorly. Last
night, he couldn't avoid the obvious. He may have been less contentious than
he was in Game 1, but he was even more unproductive (he had 14 points in Game
1). He was 1 of 10 from the field over the final three quarters and didn't
make a basket in the second half, scoring 1 point as he was 0 of 8 from the
field. For the second straight game, the Celtics were in a position down the
stretch to perhaps steal one - and Paul Pierce was left to carry the load.

Asked what he could do to get Walker going, Celtics coach Jim O'Brien snapped,
''It's not Antoine's series. We need it from all five people.''

But Walker cut right to the chase.

''Everyone else out there is giving 110 percent,'' he said. ''Paul is playing
like a superstar and I've just got to come along with him. I'm going to look
at the film to see what I'm doing wrong, see what's going wrong, and try to
find some easy opportunities. It's tough. I sort of pride myself on being a
good playoff player, and it's tough to come up short for the first time.''

Maybe the venue change will help, but it's going to take more than a different
building. Martin is a dogged defender, maybe the best on the Nets, and he
relishes the challenge of going mano-a-mano with Walker. He is averaging 17.5
points and eight rebounds in the first two games and is well ahead in this
matchup. Walker said he got much better looks last night, especially around
the basket (he took only one 3-pointer). He got to the line once - and made 1
of 2 free throws.

The Celtics got the now-automatic great game from Pierce (32 points, 10
rebounds, 11 assists) and 19 from Tony Delk points and 15 from Tony Battie.
Had Walker submitted anything close to what he usually submits, this one might
have had a different outcome.

''We got great production from everybody. I've got to step up,'' Walker said.
''I can't understand it. I'm getting good looks. I got great looks around the
basket and the shots just didn't fall for me. Hopefully, I'll play better when
we get home.''

Pierce said he thought the problem was simply getting Walker in situations
that made it easier for him to score. ''It's difficult for him,'' Pierce said
of Walker. ''We have to open up things for him. I don't think it's anything
he's doing wrong. We're not doing a good job of getting him the ball where he
likes it.''

Heading into this series, the Martin-Walker matchup was one that concerned the
Celtics almost as much as Jason Kidd against their crypto point guards. The
Nets rarely bother to double-team Walker when Martin guards him, which takes
away one of Walker's strengths - the pass out of the double-team. Instead,
he's left to go it alone. So far, Pierce has been able to do that to the
extent that the Celtics have had chances to win either game. Had his running
mate been there with him, as he was for most of the season, Boston might be
returning home in less-dire straits.

Everyone expected Walker to bounce back after his subpar outing in Game 1.
Instead, he went the other way. Other than perhaps going scoreless and fouling
out in the process, he almost has to improve in Game 3. He knows this much. If
he doesn't, his season is going to end a lot sooner than he wants it to. And
he will have a long time to ruminate over what could be a most unpleasant exit
scene.

This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 5/8/2003.
) Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.


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